Archive for the ‘FEYENOORD 1-1 LIVERPOOL’ Category

Liverpool have missed out on the Port of Rotterdam trophy after a 1-1 draw with hosts Feyenoord on Sunday night.

A 73rd-minute strike from skipper Steven Gerrard cancelled out Royston Drenthe’s opener on the stroke of half time, but it wasn’t enough to deny Porto, who win the tournament on goals scored following their 3-0 victory over Shanghai.

The result completes preparations for the long campaign ahead, and while the disappointment of missing out on silverware may spoil the journey back to Merseyside, it’s fair to say pre-season 2007 could hardly have differed more from its predecessor.

A year ago Gerrard and co went into the Premiership opener against Sheffield United on the back of three straight friendly defeats, including a disappointing 5-0 reverse to FSV Mainz 05. Just five goals were scored in as many run outs, while 10 were shipped at the other end.

So, while pre-season is never an entirely accurate marker of how things will pan out in the months that follow, there’s surely reason to be optimistic ahead of next weekend’s curtain raiser at Villa Park.

In eight friendly matches, the Reds have notched up six wins, a draw and a single penalties defeat to Portsmouth. Seventeen goals have been netted – just six conceded.

Against Feyenoord, donning their new black European away strip for the first time, Rafa Benitez’s men got the game off to a lively start. Just 21 seconds had passed when Gerrard hit the first of his many shots on goal. Minutes later Dirk Kuyt, still a hero in the De Kuip Stadium following three years and 71 league goals for Feyenoord, hit a smart volley narrowly over.

The Dutchman thought he had scored on the quarter-hour mark after a thunderous drive which hit the crossbar before seemingly bouncing over the line. Unfortunately neither the referee nor his assistant were close enough to see it.

Instead of being a goal up, Liverpool went in at the break one down thanks to a sucker-punch strike from Drenthe on the stroke of half-time, the young striker pouncing after Andwele Slory hit the post.

Harry Kewell was booked immediately after the break for reacting to a foul from Danny Buijs. Jermaine Pennant, Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa later added their names to the book in what turned out to be a fiery second half.

Alonso forced a fine save from Sherif Ekramy with just under an hour gone, but the travelling Kop had to wait until the 73rd minute to see their team equalise.

Substitute Ryan Babel set Gerrard off on a trademark striding run into the box before the skipper squeezed the ball past Ekramy.

Pepe Reina made three fine saves late on to keep the scores level, most notably a penalty from Buijs after Arbeloa was wrongly adjudged to have handballed inside the box.

18:02 GMT : Match Starts1 min : Liverpool kick off in their new Euro black away shirt3 mins : Reina gets his first touch of the game as he comes smartly off his line to gather a right wing cross8 mins : Good play by Liverpool in the searing heat as Kuyt finds space in the area but fires just over the Feyenoord goal12 mins : Pennant pulls the ball back to Gerrard who drives a first time shot just over13 mins : It’s getting hotter and hotter inside the stadium – how can anyone play football in this?14 mins : More good play from the skipper as he charges into the box but pulls his cross into an area where there are no black shirts15 mins : Another near miss for Kuyt as he drives a fierce shot off the underside of the bar. Almost a dream return to Dep Kuip for Dirk18 mins : Carragher and Agger do well between them to clear the danger as the Dutch threaten down the right19 mins : Drenthe drives down the left and fires a low shot goalwards which Reina saves comfortably22 mins : Mazy run from Agger through the middle before he is dragged down. Free kick for us in a good area outside the box28 mins : Reina is quickly out of his goal and shows a neat first touch to out-wit the Feyenoord defender and clear the danger33 mins : Foul by Arbeloa on Drenthe gives the home side a free kick on the left hand side36 mins : Excellent wing play from Pennant on the right as he swivels and gets away from his marker before delivering a fine cross which is well defended39 mins : More impressive play from Drenthe as he skips away from Arbeloa before being brought down on the edge of the box43 mins : Riise thrashes a left footed shot goalwards which whistles past the far post44 mins : GOAL! Royston Drenthe: Drenthe taps the ball home after a low shot had come back off the base of the post18:48 GMT : Half Time Reached19:05 GMT : Second Half Begins49 mins : Quick calculations in the press box tell us a 1-1 draw is no good for Liverpool as Porto would win the tournament. We need to win51 mins : Injury scare for the Reds as Gerrard goes down but it looks like he’ll be fine52 mins : Kewell and Riise combine down the left to good effect as Feyenoord need to be alert to clear the danger from Riise’s cross53 mins : Agger rises highest in the area from the resulting corner but his header is way off target54 mins : First Booking: Jermaine Pennant:56 mins : Substitution: Ryan Babel for Harry Kewell:57 mins : Alonso goes for goal with a well struck shot which is well stopped57 mins : Good play by Babel down the left and a nice pull back for Voronin who drives a shot wide59 mins : First Booking: Theo Lucius:61 mins : Almost a nightmare moment for the Feyenoord keeper who just gets the ball away from Voronin after losing his footing65 mins : Substitution: Fernando Torres for Jermaine Pennant:47 mins : First Booking: Harry Kewell:47 mins : First Booking: Danny Buijs:71 mins : GOAL! Steven Gerrard: Gerrard slides the ball under the keeper after good play by Babel to level the scores75 mins : Babel drives a low shot goalwards which is well stopped. Good effort79 mins : Substitution: Nicky Hofs for Jonathan De Guzman:80 mins : Substitution: Yossi Benayoun for Andriy Voronin:82 mins : Agger makes a mess of a clearance but Reina is there to save the day with a smart save from Makaay86 mins : Reina saves Buijs penalty after Arbeloa is wrongly adjudged to have handballed inside the box90 mins : Substitution: Momo Sissoko for Steven Gerrard:19:50 GMT : Match Over